Temperature: The average minimum and maximum temperatures range from 55.7 degrees Fahrenheit to 86.6 degrees Fahrenheit

Rainfall: 7.74 inches per year average

Sunshine: More than 325 days of sunshine on average each year - more annual days of sunshine than either San Diego or Miami Beach.

Airport access: Mesa is conveniently located 15 minutes east of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (10 miles). With 1,500+ daily flights, Sky Harbor serves nearly 100 domestic and 16 international cities. Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, a dynamic reliever airport to Phoenix's Sky Harbor International Airport, handles 300,000 take-offs and landings each year and is a convenient alternative for passengers flying in and out of the Valley. Gateway Airport offers three expansive runways, a newly remodeled passenger terminal, parking and rental car service. Falcon Field Airport, located on 600 acres with two runways, is the country's fourth busiest general aviation in the country serving air charters, flight schools and private aircraft.

Resorts and hotels: More than 60 hotels and resorts with a combined total of close to 5,000 rooms and on-property meeting space ranging from 200 to 10,000 square feet

Mesa Convention Center: Located on 22 acres of mature parkland, features include 19,000 square feet of exhibit space along with an additional 19,000 square feet of flexible meeting space; 15 meeting rooms offer a wide variety of sizes and configurations

Golf courses: 40 in Mesa most within a half-hour drive of downtown; more than 200 in the surrounding Phoenix metropolitan area

Art & Culture: Home to Mesa Arts Center, the Southwest's largest urban art and entertainment campus featuring 14 artist studios, five galleries, and four theaters on seven acres; Arizona Museum For Youth, the first museum dedicated to youth and art in the U.S.; Arizona Museum of Natural History, the state's largest repository for fossils found in the Southwest

Spring Training: Annual host each March to the Chicago Cubs since 1952 at Hohokam Stadium;

Mesa leads the Cactus League in attendance annually and holds the current all-time Major League Spring Training attendance record

Resident median age: Mesa's population is young, with a median age of 32 years, compared to the U.S. median age of 35.3. Less than 15 percent of Mesa's population is above 65 years, compared to the national average of 12.4 percent.

Resident median household income: Mesa is located in one of the nation's strongest metropolitan economies. Median household effective buying income (after tax income) in the Mesa area is $40,646.

Businesses: Mesa has 8 Business Centers/Corridors within the City's Planning area of approximately 170 square miles. These economic activity areas host about 70 percent of the City's total jobs, 66 percent of the City's firms, and 69 percent of citywide sales.

Historical Facts & Figures on Mesa, Arizona

Founded: Mesa was established as a new town in 1878 by Mormon settlers, the village council first named Mesa streets in 1884 and the first Mesa Post Office was established in 1889

About the Mesa Convention & Visitors Bureau:The Mesa Convention & Visitors Bureau is responsible for marketing Mesa, Arizona as a leading vacation, small meeting and sports travel destination to regional and national target audiences, including travel agents and group tour operators, meeting planners, leisure visitors and media.

Editor's Note: Readers can request a complimentary 2011 Official Mesa Arizona Visitors Guide at VisitMesa.com or by calling 800-283-6372.

Download Images: High-resolution images for editorial use are available for download at VisitMesa.com. Click on "Photo/Video Tour" and follow prompts. Images are offered in nine categories. You must complete a registration form to receive images. All requests are processed upon receipt during regular business hours.